The Russian Federation directed a military crew and the Buk missile system to eastern Ukraine at the request of Russian agents Igor Girkin and Alexander Borodai, by their appeal to the head of the Russian occupation administration in Crimea, Sergei Aksyonov, the then deputy chief of the Russian military intelligence, Alexei Dyumin, the first deputy head of the Federal Security Service Border Service, Andriy Burlaka, and the assistant to the President of the Russian Federation, Alexander Surkov. On June 19, 2014, the request was approved by the President of the Russian Federation following a meeting of the Security Council of the Russian Federation.

On June 23, 2014, the crew and the Buk missile system 3x2 (332), equipped with four missiles from the arsenal of the 53rd Kursk Anti-Aircraft Missile Brigade of the Russian Armed Forces, set out from a military base in the city of Kursk towards Ukraine. The crew consisted of four people: a commander, two operators, and a driver-mechanic. The commander was directly responsible for the missile launch.

On June 25, 2014, the crew and the Buk missile system 3x2 reached the Ukrainian-Russian border at the Nizhnomytakyne hamlet near the town of Millerovo in the Rostov region. As of July 15, 2014, it was known that 193 military personnel from the 53rd brigade were present at the border with Ukraine.

On the night of July 16-17, 2014, the Buk missile system 3x2 crossed the border on a cargo trailer near the town of Severny in the Luhansk region. The Buk system followed the following route: Sorokino - Luhansk - Alchevsk - Debaltseve - Yenakiyeve - Makiivka - Donetsk - Makiivka - Zuhres - Shakhtarsk - Chystyakove - Snizhne. From the town of Snizhne, the Buk missile system proceeded on its own to the launch site near the town of Pervomaisky in the Donetsk region.

The entire process of transporting the Buk missile system 3x2 to the launch site was carried out by Russian agents in a defined hierarchy: Igor Girkin > Sergey Dubinsky > Oleg Pulatov (who was later acquitted) > Leonid Kharchenko. 

The same individuals hastily decided to transport the Buk missile system 3x2 on a trailer back to the Russian Federation after the plane was shot down, using this route: Snizhne - Khrustalnyi - Debaltseve - Luhansk - Severnyi settlement. One of the four missiles was missing from the system. On July 18, 2014, the system crossed the border into the Russian Federation.

Almost immediately after the civilian plane was shot down, Igor Girkin reported it as if it were the supposed shooting down of a military transport plane, the AN-26. However, the publication was deleted just a few hours later. Russia began falsifying evidence and producing countless versions of the event, including the Russian propaganda claiming that the Boeing was shot down by a Ukrainian military plane, the SU-25, or by a Ukrainian Buk missile system from Ukrainian-controlled territory. These versions were refuted. Russian media published supposedly satellite images, which also turned out to be fake.

On May 25, 2018, following the work of the Dutch Safety Board and the Joint Investigation Team of the Netherlands and Australia, Russia was invited to discuss aspects of its responsibility for the internationally wrongful act committed to ensure compensation (reparations) for the damage caused. Confidential discussions were held between the three states from March 2019 to October 15, 2020, until Russia announced the cessation of its participation.

On July 10, 2020, the Netherlands initiated an inter-state complaint against Russia in the European Court of Human Rights to establish facts of human rights violations and provide compensation to victims of Russia's actions. The complaint was combined with Ukraine's complaints against Russia regarding human rights violations in eastern Ukraine.

The Netherlands claims in the complaint that Russia unlawfully took the lives of passengers and crew members of the plane; did not provide reasonable and necessary measures to prevent the downing of a civilian aircraft by Russian military; did not ensure an effective investigation into the crash and did not provide effective assistance to the Joint Investigation Team and the Dutch Safety Board; and disregards the suffering of the victims' relatives.

On November 30, 2022, the European Court of Human Rights found the Netherlands' complaint admissible and established, at first glance, the validity of the Netherlands' claims. The case is now awaiting substantive consideration, which will involve establishing the facts of the Convention violation and determining ways to compensate for the damage.

Significant efforts have also been made to establish and hold accountable the direct perpetrators of the crime. 

On July 29, 2015, several countries, including Ukraine, proposed to the UN Security Council the creation of an International Criminal Tribunal for the Malaysian Airlines MH17 flight to hold specific perpetrators criminally responsible. The proposal included the lifting of immunities of high-ranking officials of any state before such a court, which Russia was not interested in. Among the 15 members of the UN Security Council, only Russia voted against and vetoed the creation of the tribunal.

Oleg Pulatov was acquitted as it was not possible to prove beyond reasonable doubt his involvement in the criminal actions, in particular his contribution to the deployment of the Buk missile launcher. However, he was aware of the deployment of the complex and was appointed as its formal coordinator. The investigation was able to establish that the instructions of Sergey Dubinsky regarding the deployment of the Buk missile launcher were executed and directed to Leonid Kharchenko.

At present, the criminal investigation is suspended as it was not possible to identify other individuals who could be held criminally responsible in the national court of the Netherlands. However, the criminal proceedings are not closed and can be continued in the presence of new information.